William lewis walkeb



(No Model.) .7

W. L. WALKER.

SE AFTS FOR TWO WHEELED VEHICLES. No. 346,624; Pat gnted Augfi, 1886.MP7 r7 @1513 330mm c1 51.,

1 i v I \VILLIAM- LEWIS \VALKER,

Enron.

PATENT OF BROOKS, GALIFORNI A.

SHAFT FOR TWO WHEELED VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 346,624, dated August3, 1886.

Application filed April 24, 1880.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Lnwis WALK- ER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Brooks, in the county of Yolo and State ofCalifornia, have invented 'a new and useful Improvement in Draft Polesor Shafts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in draft poles or shafts forvehicles; and it consists of the peculiar and novel construction andcombination of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully set forth, andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved pole orshaft for vehicles which shall obviate the motion of the draft-animalbecoming communicated to the body of the vehicle; to provide an improvedform of hinge which shall limit the movement of the pole-sections andtake up the horse motion, to provide means for regulating the angle orlevel of the vehicle-body, which can be operated by the driver in thebody without moving from his seat, and to provide improved means whichshall be simple and durable, effective, easy of adjustment andoperation, and cheap.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a plan view showing a pair ofconnected shafts provided with my invention and the means for operatingthe same from the vehicle-body, which, however, is omitted. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the hinge, the yoke, and springs applied to the shaftor thilL of a vehicle, the connecting bars thereof being shown insection. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the yoke and springs.Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the hinge or coupling, and Fig. 5 isa detached perspective view of the hingesections.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denotecorresponding parts in all the figures, A designates the shafts of thevehicle of any class, which are made in a front and rear section, B andC, respectively, and the contiguous ends of the said pole-sections areconnected by transverse connecting-bars a, to adapt the sections B or Oto move together or simultaneously.

I will now proceed to describe the'conneo tions intermediate of thesections of one of the Serial No. 200,013. (No model.)

shafts A; but it will be understood that the sections of both of theshafts are connected by similarly-constructed devices, and which operatein the samemanner.

The contiguous ends of the front and rear sections of each of the shaftsare cut off squarely or at any desired angle, and they are each providedwith one section of the hinge or coupling D,that pivotally connects thesections B and O, and has a limited amount of play to prevent the horsemotion from becoming communicated to the vehicle-body. The section E ofthe hinge or coupling D consists of two parallel plates or straps, e,that are arranged one above the other, and a vertical plate, 6,connecting the parallel plates at one end, and provided withsemicircular or rounded recesses or seats 6 at its side edges, and asimilar lug or projection, e projecting forwardly and beyond the same,all of which are cast or formed in one piece of metal. 'The section F ofthe hinge or coupling D is made in two pieces, f 1', one of which, f,has a vertical plate, J, at one end,which is provided .at its side edgeswith forwardly-curved or rounded lugs g, and a socket, 9, intermediateof the lugs g, which is concaved to correspond with the convexity of thelug e of the hingesection E. The hinge-section E is secured uponthe-front end of the shaft-section O, with the plates e bearing on theupper and lower face thereof and secured thereto, and the hingesection Fis secured upon the rear end of the pole or shaft section B, the platesff thereof being secured on the section B and to each other by suitablescrews or through-bolts. The lugs g and c of the hinge or couplingsections E F are perforated transversely, and

when the hinge-sections are fitted together thezgc openings in the legsthereof register or coincide to receive a pivot pin or bolt, G. The lugsg of the hinge-section F fit in the recesses or seats 6 of the sectionE, and the lug e of the latter section fits in the seat or recess 9 ofthe section F. These lugs are thus pivotally connected together to adaptthe shaft-sections to move freely in a vertical plane, and the up perand lower edges of the hinge-sections are provided with an intermediatespace that allows a limited amount of movement between thehinge-sections, the edges thereof coming in ICO contact or engagement tolimit the play or movement. 7

H designates the take-up springs, which are arranged on the upper andlower sides of the shaft and bear against the sections thereof. Thesesprings H are provided with two inclined or angular portions, h, thatextend in opposite directions, and theinner ends of these inclinedportions of the springs are connected by an intermediate curved portion,h, that forms a bearing for the yoke, the portions h h of the springsbeing in one piece of resilient or elastic metal. The free ends of thesetake-up springs are slotted longitudinally, as at h and in these slotsare fitted limiting shoulders or stops h", that are cast or formedintegral with free ends of the plates of the hinge-sections E F. Thesprings are held under the proper degree of tension to bear on theshaft-sections by means of a yoke, I, that straddles the shaft and isfree to move'vertically. This yoke comprises two curved or segmentalplates, 1, that are disposed vertically and on opposite sides of theshaft and the springs, and the transverse blocks P,which are secured inand connect the free ends of the segmental plates. These blocks I aresuitably pivoted to the plates and are curved or rounded to snugly fitin the seats in the take-up springs H, and the segmental plates areguided in their vertical movements by slots or recesses i,cut or formedin the vertical or side faces of the shaft-section B and the hinge orcoupling section F.

J designates a rock-shaft, which is suitably supported or j ournaled inproper bearings, j, and this rock-shaft is providedwith two arms,J Jthat are arranged at different angles and rigidly thereon, the arm Jbeing pivotally connected to a rigid arm carried by the segmental plates1 of the yoke, and the arm J being also pivotally connected to a rod orlink, K, that extends rearwardly, and the opposite end thereof ispivotally connected to the lower arm, Z, of a pivoted operating-lever,L. This lever L is disposed in a vertical position, and the upper endthereof is projected above the seat M of the vehiclebody, so as to bewithin easy and convenient reach of the driver, whereby he can adjustthe angle or level of the body without dismounting or moving from hisplace. The lever L is made of spring-metal and bent laterally, as shown,so that it can be very conveniently forced to one side to disengage thelocking shoulder or lug m, carried thereby,

from one of the notches of a segmental rack,

N, that is suitably secured in place; and, in lieu of providing thespring-lever and its shoulder to engage the notched rack, the levermaybe rigid and carry a binding-screw; or other means may be employed tohold the operating-lever to its adjusted position.

This being the construction of my invention, the operation thereof is asfollows: To elevate the front end of the vehicle-body, the upper end ofthe pivoted operating-lever is thrown forwardly, and thus drawingrearwardly on rod or linkK and the arms of the rock-shaft J, serves todraw the yoke downwardly, whereby the block at the upper end thereof isbrought tobear with force on the upper spring, H, and the latter bearson the pivoted ends of the pole-sections, the free outer end of thefront pole-section, B, being depressed and thus changed in its relativepositions to the rear polesection, the front end of which will beelevated, and thus raise the front end of the body. When the yoke isdrawn downwardly, the pressure on the upper spring is increased and thaton the lower spring is correspondingly decreased to permit theabove-described movement of the shaft'sections to take place, and as thefront and rear shaft-sections are connected by transverse bars a theywill be simultaneously operated to attain the desired end. When thedesired adjustment of the vehiclebody has been attained, by shifting theoperating lever to the desired position it is locked in place to preventretrograde movement of the parts, and if it is desired to lower thefront end of the vehicle-body the lever is moved or shifted in thereverse direction. When the vehicle is in motion, the movement of thehorse or animal will be taken up by the springs H, which are unaffectedin their operation by the yoke, and thus prevent the unpleasant joggingmotion to the vehicle-body. It will thus be seen that I provide forrelieving the vehicle of all horse motion, and for the adjustment of thebody without the driver dismounting and while the team or animal is inmotion.

Having thus fully described my invention, wh t I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Let ers Patent, is-

1. The combination of the pivoted shaft-sections, the pressurespringsbearing against the opposite sides thereof, and a yoke connecting thesprings, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the pivoted shaft-sections movable in a verticalplane, the pressure-springs hearing at their free ends against thecontiguous ends of the shaft-sections, and a yoke connecting the springsintermediate of their ends, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the pivoted shaft-sections, the springs bearingagainst the same on opposite sides and each having a seat, and aconnecting-yoke having the bearings at its ends that fit in the seats ofthe springs, sub stantially as described.

4. The combination of the pivoted shaft-see tions, the springs bearingagainst opposite sides thereof and each having its ends slotted, thestops fitting in the slots to limit the play of the springs, and theyoke connecting the springs, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the pivoted shaft-sections, the springs bearingagainst opposite sides thereof, the yoke connecting the springs, andmeans located in the body of the vehicle for moving the yoke vertically,substantially as described.

ICC

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6. The combination of the pivoted shaitsecthe vertically-movable yokeconnecting the springs, a lever, and connections intermediate of thelever and yoke for actuating the latter, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the pivoted shaft-sections, the springs, thevertically-movable yoke connecting the springs, a rock-shaft having anarm pivotally connected to the yoke, a pivoted lever, and connectionsintermediate of the lever and rock-shaft, substantially as de scribed.

8. The combination of the shaft-sections, the sectional coupling orhinge pivotally connecting the shaft-sections, the springs, and the yokeconnecting the springs, substantially as described.

9. The combination of the shaft-sections, the

I hinge or coupling intermediate of the shaft- \VILLIAM LEWIS \VALKER.

Witnesses:

GEORGE ABBEY, ED. E. PERKINS.

